Senate Dems slam Gregoire ferry plan

Five Democrats in the state Senate sent out a joint statement Thursday afternon condemning Gov. Chris Gregoire’s plan to transfer authority for the state ferry system to a regional authority with its own taxing power. The Democrats include Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, who heads the Senate Transportation Committee.

Senate Democrats sent

“Our ferries are part of our state highway system, just like roads, rail and transit.
Isolating the needs in our ferry system and creating another layer of government to address them is not the solution. Users of ferries already pay into the highway system just like everybody else when they pay gas taxes, in addition to ferry fares.

The state’s not asking Seattle residents to pay special taxes for the tunnel or the 520 bridge. It’s not asking Spokane residents to pay special taxes for the North-South Corridor. It’s not asking Vancouver residents to pay special taxes to pay for the Vancouver-Portland Bridge. Our ferries are no less a part of the state highway system than these projects.

We need to prioritize the dollars we have. We need to continue working on the efficiencies that we’ve started in the ferry system. And we need a transportation package to meet the needs of our entire highway system as a whole, including ferries, roads, rail and transit.”